Former White House contender Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., is set to endorse former President Donald Trump as the GOP presidential nominee — snubbing the Palmetto State’s former Gov. Nikki Haley.
Scott dropped his run in November and said he wouldn’t endorse another candidate, the New York Post reported.
He’s expected to make the endorsement at a Trump campaign rally later Friday in New Hampshire, the Post reported, citing multiple reports.
Scott’s jump onto the Trump election train comes just days ahead of the Jan. 23 New Hampshire primary — and is a considerable blow to Haley, who appointed Scott in December 2012 to the Senate seat he went on to win twice on his own, the Post noted.
Haley is Trump’s nearest challenger in New Hampshire, and has to win the primary to put a dent into his march to the GOP nomination in Milwaukee later this year.
NBC News reported that Haley, responding to reports of Scott's expected move, said: "Interesting that Trump’s lining up with all the Washington insiders when he claimed he wanted to drain the swamp. But the fellas are gonna do what the fellas are gonna do."
Scott’s endorsement gives Trump the backing of 26 out of the Senate's 49 Republicans.
The endorsement comes four days after Trump overwhelmingly won the Iowa Republican caucus, beating Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis by nearly 30 percentage points. Haley came in third.